Commentary on Genesis, Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII.
Ver. 1. WHen Abram was ninety nine Years old.] Thirteen Years after Iſhmael's Birth.
The LORD appeared to Abram.] In a viſible Majeſty; to ſatisfie him that the Promiſe made, (XV. 4, 5.) ſhould not be fulfilled in Iſhmael.
I am the Almighty God.] Or, All-ſufficient. This is the firſt time we meet with this Name: Which was moſt fitly uſed here, when he ſpeaks of a thing very difficult to be done; but not beyond the Power of God, who can do all things, and needs none to aſſiſt him.
Walk before me.] Go on to pleaſe me.
And be thou perfect.] Till thou haſt compleated thy Faith and Obedience.
Ver. 2. And I will make my Covenant, &c.] Eſtabliſh and perform my Covenant: For it was made before, and now only confirmed, by a Sign or Token of it, verſe 11.
Ver. 3. Abram fell on his Face.] Being aſtoniſhed at the Brightneſs of that Majeſty which appeared to him, verſe 1.
Ver. 4. As for me, behold, my Covenant, &c.] Be not afraid, for it is I, who am conſtant to my Word, and now again ingage my ſelf unto thee.
Thou ſhalt be a Father of many Nations.] Not only of Jews, and Iſhmaelites, and others; but, in the Spiritual Sence, of all the Gentile World.
Ver. 5. Neither ſhall thy Name, &c.] Abram is commonly interpreted, high Father; and Abraham the Father of a Multitude. So the very Text expounds the reaſon of this Name: For a Father of many Nations have I made thee. There are many ways of making out this meaning; but none ſeems to me ſo plain, as that of Hottinger's; who makes it a compoſition of Ab, (a Father) and the old word Raham, which ſtill in Arabick ſignifies a great Number. Smegma Orient. Cap. VIII. §. 19.
Ver. 6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, &c.] I obſerved before, XII. 7. that Abram's Obedience was conſtantly rewarded in kind, &c. of which here is a new proof. For upon his ſubmiſſion to be circumciſed, (wherein his Obedience was next tried) which might ſeem to weaken the Power of Generation, (as Maimonides affirms it doth, More Nevoch. P. III. c. 49.) God promiſes that he would make him ſo exceeding Fruitful, that Nations and Kings ſhould proceed from him: As there did both by Iſrael, Edom, and Iſhmael, from whom the Saracens came, &c.
Ver. 7. An everlaſting Covenant.] The word Olam, which we tranſlate Everlaſting, hath often a limited ſignification, to the end of ſuch a Period, (as Exod. XXI. 6. a Servant for ever, is till the Year of Jubilee) though with reſpect to the thing ſignified, this Covenant is abſolutely everlaſting; and continues now that the ſign is aboliſhed. The next words tell us what was ſignified in this Covenant of Circumciſion.
To be a God unto thee, &c.] I think Maimonides hath truly obſerved, that in Circumciſion, they covenanted with God, to have no other God but him; Or, in his Phraſe, they covenanted concerning the belief of the Ʋnity of God, More Nev. P. III. c. 49. Who promiſed to be their God; that is, to beſtow all manner of Bleſſings upon them, and at laſt to ſend the Meſſiah.
Ver. 8. And I will give thee, &c.] Here he again renews his Promiſe, (XII. 7. XIII. 15. XV. 18.) and confirms it by this Covenant, to give him that Land, wherein he was at preſent a ſtranger, and to put his Seed in poſſeſſion of it.
An everlaſting poſſeſſion.] If they did not forfeit it by their diſobedience to him.
Ver. 9. Thou ſhalt keep my Covenant therefore, &c.] Now follows Abraham's part of this Covenant; which was mutual between God and him.
Ver. 10. This is my Covenant.] Which the next Verſe explains, by the Sign or Token of the Covenant. As the Paſchal Lamb is called the Paſſover of the Lord, Exod. XII. 11. That is, the memorial of the Angel's paſſing them by, when he killed the Egyptian Children, XIII. 9. But Circumciſion was ſuch a Sign, that they entred thereby into a Covenant with God to be his People. For it was not a mere Mark, whereby they ſhould be known to be Abraham's Seed, and diſtinguiſhed from other Nations: But they were made by this, the Children of the Covenant, and intitled to the Bleſſings of it. Though, if there had been no more in it but this, That they who were of the ſame Faith, as Maimonides ſpeaks, ſhould have one certain Character, whereby they ſhould be known and joyned one to another, without the mixture of any other People; it had been a very wiſe appointment. And this Mark was very fitly choſen, becauſe it was ſuch a Token, as no Man would have ſet upon himſelf and upon his Children; unleſs it were for Faith and Religion ſake. For it is not a Brand upon the Arm, or an Inciſion in the Thigh; but a thing very hard, in a moſt tender part: Which no Body would have undertaken, but on the fore-named account. P. III. More Nev. c. 49.
It may be proper here to add; That Covenants were anciently made in thoſe Eaſtern Countries, by dipping their Weapons in Blood, (as Xenophon tells us) and by pricking the Fleſh, and ſucking each others Blood, as we read in Tacitus. Who obſerves, (L. XII. Annal.) that when Kings made a League, they took each other by the Hand, and their Thumbs being hard tied together, they prick'd them, when the Blood was forced to the extream parts, and each Party lick'd it: Which he ſaith was accounted Arcanum foedus, quaſi mutuo cruore ſacratum, a myſterious Covenant, being made Sacred by their mutual Blood. How old this Cuſtom had been, we do not know: But it is evident God's Covenant with Abraham was ſolemnized on Abraham's part, by his own and his Son Iſaac's Blood, and ſo continued through all Generations, by cutting off the Fore-skin of their Fleſh, (as it follows in the next Verſe) whereby as they were made the Select People of God: So God in concluſion, ſent his own Son, who by this very Ceremony of Circumciſion, was conſecrated to be their God and their Redeemer.
Ver. 11. Ye ſhall circumciſe the Fleſh of your foreskin.] i. e. The Foreskin of your Fleſh: For that Member, which is the Inſtrument of Generation, is peculiarly called by the Name of Fleſh, in many places, Lev. XV. 2. Ezek. XVI. 26. In which part of the Body, rather than in any other, God appointed the Mark of his Covenant to be made; that they might be denoted to be an Holy Seed, conſecrated to him from the beginning. The Pagans made Marks in ſeveral parts of their Bodies, (ſome in one, ſome in another) whereby they were conſecrated to their Gods: But the Character which God would have imprinted upon his People, was in one peculiar part and no other, (from which they never varied,) viz. In that part which ſerved for the Propagation of Mankind. Of which ſome have given Natural, others Moral Reaſons; but the moſt plain and obvious is, That it might be an apt Token of the Divine Covenant made with Abraham and his Poſterity: That God would multiply their Seed, and make them as the Stars of Heaven, XV. 5. It is probable alſo, that this part was choſen, rather than any other; to make them ſenſible, that this was a Divine Sacrament: For nothing but God's Inſtitution, could at firſt engage Men to lay that part bare, which Nature hath covered.
It is of late indeed made a Queſtion by ſome learned Men, whether this were the Original of Circumciſion: Which they fanſie the Jews borrowed from the Egyptians, and not the Egyptians from the Jews. Certain it is, That not only the Egyptians, but ſeveral other Nations, did very anciently uſe Circumciſion. Now it is improbable, ſay they, that the Egyptians, (who ſeem to have had it the moſt early of all Nations, who ſprang not from Abraham) would borrow this Cuſtom from the Hebrews, whom they perfectly hated, (Shepherds being an abomination to them, XLVI. 34.) and therefore they give themſelves the liberty to ſay, That God did not now enjoyn Abraham a new thing, when he ordered him to be circumciſed; but only made this a Sign of his Covenant with him, which it was not with other Nations. But unleſs it can be proved that Circumciſion was in uſe before Abraham's time, (which doth not appear from any good Authors, though ſuch as Celſus were ſo bold as to affirm it, as we find in Origen, L. V.) ſuch Arguments as theſe will not perſuade us to believe, that it came from the Egyptians or any other Nation: But they had it, if not from the Hebrews, yet from the Poſterity of Iſhmael, or other People deſcended from Abraham. Who being highly beloved of God, it is not credible that God would ſet the Mark of Ham's Race upon him and his Poſterity: Much leſs make it the Token of his Covenant with them. See J. Ludolphus, L. III. Comment. in Hiſtor. Aethiop. C. I. n. 3. The only Authority upon whom the broachers of this Novelty rely is Herodotus: Who in his Second Book, cap. 104. ſays, The People of Colchis and the Egyptians, were the only Nations that were circumciſed, foreign, from the beginning: The Syrians and Phoenicians who live in Paleſtine acknowledging they had this Rite from them. Which is juſt ſuch a Tale as he tells in the Second Chapter of that Book, that the Egyptians were the firſt inhabiters of the Earth, unleſs perhaps the Phrygians. This Opinion proceeded from their own vain Conceit; which made them loath to confeſs they received Circumciſion from any other People. Though I think there is a convincing Argument of it in Moſes himſelf; who tells us in Chapter X. 14. that the Philiſtim came from the Caſluchim, i. e. the People of Colchis; as that People came originally from Egypt. (So Herodotus himſelf, Diodorus, and abundance of other credible Authors, teſtifie.) This, it appears by what I noted there, was before the time of Moſes, nay, before Abraham: For the Philiſtim had a King among them in his days: As we read in this Book, XX. and XXVI. Now theſe Philiſtim were an uncircumciſed People, and therefore the People of Colchis no doubt were ſo alſo, when they went out of their Country, and drove the Avim out of Paleſtine. And conſequently the Egyptians had no ſuch Rite among them, when the Caſluchim came from Egypt; but put a groſs cheat upon Herodotus when they made him believe they had been circumciſed, foreign, from the beginning. And, in like manner they impoſed upon him, who told him the Inhabitants of Paleſtine, (whom he calls Syrians and Phoenicians) confeſſed they received Circumciſion from the Egyptians. For there were no Inhabitants of Paleſtine circumciſed but the Jews, who always profeſſed they received it from Abraham. Who, we may be confident was the firſt Perſon in the World that was circumciſed: There being nothing to induce any Body to uſe ſuch a Rite, unleſs they had been directed to it by God, as Abraham was. From whom the Iſhmaelites received it; and from them the Arabians: And from thoſe Countries, or from Abraham's Children by Keturah, it was derived (as ſeems moſt probable to me) to the Egyptians: From whom the People of Colchis, who knew themſelves to be an Egyptian breed, imbraced it; in imitation of their famous Anceſtors. But, after Abraham's time, who found no ſuch Rite among the Philiſtim, a Colony of theirs; to whom in all likelihood they would have communicated it, as the Egyptians did to them, if it had been then uſed in that Country.
Ver. 12. And he that is eight days old, &c.] Maimonides thinks that if Circumciſion had not been performed in their Infancy, it might have been in danger to have been neglected afterward. For an Infant felt not ſo much Pain as an adult Perſon would have done; in whom the Fleſh is more compact, and his Imagination ſtronger. The Parents alſo, (eſpecially Fathers) have not ſo ſtrong an Affection to a Child when he is newly born, as they have when he is grown up: And ſo more eaſily ſubmitted to this harſh Rite, at their firſt appearance in the World; than they would have done, after they were more endeared to them. But the Child could not be circumciſed before the eighth Day after his Birth; becauſe till then he was look'd upon as imperfect; and not yet ſufficiently cleanſed and purged: For which reaſon Beaſts were not accepted by God, till ſeven Days were paſt, after their Birth, Exod. XXII. 30. See More Nevoch. P. III. cap. 49.
And, as the Child was not to be circumciſed before the eighth Day, ſo he was not (unleſs perhaps in caſe of great weakneſs) to be kept uncircumciſed beyond that Day. On which, if the Parents did not cauſe it to be circumciſed, the Houſe of Judgment, as the Jews ſpeak, were bound to do it. And if they did not (being ignorant perhaps of the neglect) the Child when he came of Age, (i. e. was thirteen Years old) was bound himſelf to get it done. If he did not, the Judges (if it were known to them) were obliged to take care of it: As Mr. Selden obſerves, L. I. de Synedr. cap. 6. p. 96, 97.
Ver. 13. He that is born in thy Houſe, or bought with Money, muſt needs be circumciſed.] Not whether they would or no: For Men were not to be compelled to Religion; which had been a profanation of this Covenant. But Abraham was to perſuade them to it; and, if they conſented not, to keep them no longer in his Houſe: But to ſell them to ſome other People. So Maimonides expounds it, in his Book of Circumciſion, Cap. I. which is true both of Servants born in the Houſe, and bought with Money: But as for the Children of theſe Slaves, they were to be circumciſed whether their Parents would or no: Becauſe they were the poſſeſſion of their Maſters, not of their Parents. For which cauſe, when the Parents were ſet free, their Children were left behind, as their Maſters Goods, Exod. XXI. 4.
Ver. 14. That Soul ſhall be cut off from his People.] That is, if when he came to the Age of thirteen Years, he did not cauſe it to be done.
What it is to be cut off is very much diſputed. The ſimpleſt Sence ſeems to be, he ſhall not be accounted one of God's People. But the Hebrew Doctors generally take this to have been a Puniſhment inflicted by the Hand of Heaven, i. e. of God: Though they be much divided in their Opinions about it. Of which Mr. Selden treats at large in L. VII. De Jure N. & G. c. 9. and De Synedr. L. I. c. 6. and more briefly L' Empereur in his Notes upon Cornel. Bertram De Republ. Jud. p. 351. Some ſay it was the ſhortning of the Man's Life; others ſay it was the making him Childleſs; ſo that his Family and Name periſhed in Iſrael. Maimonides would have it the extinction both of Soul and Body, like a Brute. And Abarbinel takes it for the loſs of the Happineſs of the World to come. Some Chriſtians would have it, to be Excommunication: Which cannot be, becauſe ſuch a Perſon never was a Member of the Church, which he was to be made by Circumciſion. The firſt of theſe Opinions ſeems more probable than the reſt: For God himſelf ſaith of ſeveral Offenders, to whom he threatens this Puniſhment, I will cut him off, and I will ſet my face againſt him, Lev. XVII. 10. XX. 5, 6. XXIII. 30. Yet in other places, it muſt be confeſſed, this Cereth, or cutting off, ſignifies more largely, a Puniſhment by the Judge, and not by the Hand of God. And therefore the ſignification of it muſt be determined by the Matter, with which it is joyned. Thus the violation of the Sabbath is threatned with cutting off, Exod. XXXI. 14. which was to be done by ſtoning him: And ſo were inceſtuous Perſons, Blaſphemers, Idolaters, and others, to be judicially cut off by the Rulers.
Ver. 15. Sarah ſhall be her Name.] The ſame Letter is added to her Name, that was to Abraham's, and for the ſame reaſon; for in the next Verſe it is ſaid, ſhe ſhall be a Mother of Nations.
Ver. 16. Give thee a Son alſo of her.] Here now the promiſed Seed is determined to ſpring from Sarah. See XVI. 2.
Ver. 17. Abraham fell on his face.] Worſhipped God with the humbleſt Reverence.
And laughed.] Not doubting of the Promiſe, (for the Apoſtle tells us quite contrary, Rom. IV. 19.) but out of the exceeding great Joy wherewith he was tranſported; and the Admiration wherewith he was ſurpriſed. Which produced the following Queſtions.
Shall a Child be born unto him, who is an hundred Years old? &c.] As if he had ſaid, ſtrange! that I and Sarah at this Age ſhould have a Child. What joyful News is this! Accordingly the Chaldee tranſlates the word laughed; he rejoyced.
Ver. 18. O that Iſhmael might live before thee!] In his Poſterity; as appears by God's Anſwer to this Petition, verſe 20.
Ver. 19. Call his Name Iſaac.] He had this Name from Abraham's, not from Sarah's Laughter: For that was after this; and proceeded not from the ſame Cauſe with Abraham's.
Ver. 20. I have heard thee.] He ſhall have a numerous Poſterity. See Doctor Jackson's Firſt Book on the Creed, c. 26. where he ſhows how the Hagerens grew a mighty Nation: And at laſt (when they were called Saracens) became the Scourges of all theſe parts of the World.
Ver. 21. But my Covenant will I eſtabliſh with Iſaac.] The great Bleſſings I have promiſed in the Covenant I have made with thee, ſhall come to thy Poſterity by Iſaac, not by Iſhmael: Particularly the Meſſiah.
Ver. 22. And God went up from Abraham.] That viſible Majeſty wherein he appeared to him, (Verſe 1.) called often, in after-times, the Glory of the LORD, went up to Heaven from whence it came.
Ver. 25. Iſhmael was thirteen Years old, &c.] From hence it was that the Saracens, deſcended from him, did not circumciſe their Children till they were thirteen Years old. So it was in the days of Joſephus, L. I. Antiq. c. 13. And the Saracens in Spain and Africk obſerved the ſame Cuſtom.
Ver. 26. In the ſelf-ſame day.] The Jews will have this to be the ſame, with the great Day of Expiation, inſtituted in Moſes his time: So that God every Year remembred, ſay they, the Covenant of Circumciſion. But this is an ungrounded Fancy.
Ver. 27. And all the Men of his Houſe.] Maimonides underſtands by the Men of his Houſe, thoſe whom Abraham had converted from Idolatry, and made Proſelytes to the true Religion. So do others among the Jews (ſee his Treatiſe of the Worſhip of the Planets, C. I. §. 9. But it is more proper to underſtand by the Men of his Houſe, all his Family in general. Who were either (as it follows) born in his Houſe, (and therefore it is likely were bred up in the true Religion, and ſo eaſily perſuaded to receive the Mark of Circumciſion) or bought with his Money; who ſubmitted to Abraham's Arguments, not to his Authority: For Religion is to be choſen, not compelled.